The Scientific Delirium Madness is a collaborative initiative of Leonardo/The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (ISAST) and Djerassi Resident Artists Program (DRAP). Empiricism and intuition are not mutually exclusive. The goal of the project is to explore and expand how the creativity of scientists and artists are connected.

Deadline to apply: March 15 each year for a residency in the following year

At its heart is a 29 day residency for six (6) artists and six (6) scientists at Djerassi’s 585-acre retreat in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, south of San Francisco. The program will also include public and academic forums, published blogs and articles in LEONARDO/ISAST’s journal published by MIT Press.

Scientists selected must be involved in significant art-related research and/or be practicing a form of art and/or have original ideas on how to integrate aspects of art and science. This includes but is not limited to poetry, playwriting, fiction, creative non-fiction, choreography, music composition, media arts/filmmaking, painting, sculpture, photography, and installation art. By the same token artists selected will have a track record of work driven by the influence of biology, chemistry, physics, math, environmental or agricultural science. A strong sense of play and experimentation is essential.

Scientists, mathematicians and additional artists will also be proposed via nominators selected by the project’s steering committee. Invitations for residencies will be sent in September of the year applied.

This is not a product-based residency. Artists and scientists will be free to work on their own projects. Participants will be expected to be in-residence for the entirety of the session. Accommodations, food, and local transportation are provided. Residents will also be expected to interact with colleagues in differing fields, participate in a two public forums during their stay and document/share their experiences for both academic and general audiences.